Rosalnice
Encyclopedia
Rosalnice is a village
on the left bank of the Kolpa
River, east of the town of Metlika
in the White Carniola
area of southeastern Slovenia
, right on the border with Croatia
. The Novo Mesto
to Karlovac
railway line runs through the settlement before it crosses the Kolpa River into Croatia. The entire area is part of the traditional region of Lower Carniola
and is now included in the Southeast Slovenia statistical region
.
Archaeological finds
show that the area has been settled since Roman times
. An ancient burial ground
was partly destroyed when local houses were being built, but 20 graves
were properly excavated.
churches on the northeastern edge of the settlement. Unusually the three churches are built within a single walled enclosure. The northernmost church is dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows
. It was built in around 1383 and its nave was vaulted
in the late 17th century. The middle church is called Ecce Homo
and was built in the early 16th century. It was restyled in the Baroque
in the 17th and 18th centuries. The third church is dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes
and has a Late Romanesque
nave
with a 15th-century Gothic
sanctuary
, but was extensively rebuilt in the following centuries. On the exterior wall of the sanctuary some wall paintings
dating to the 16th century, depicting the crucifixion
and Saint Christopher
, are preserved. The churches are collectively known as the Three Parishes , but are not as such parish church
es and belong to the Parish
of Metlika.
The early history of the development of the complex is not well documented in written sources, so numerous theories have arisen as to the origins of the three churches. Based on Valvasor's account as well as other sources, some authors have suggested the site was established by the Knights Templar
in the late 12th century when they were granted the parish of Črnomelj
with all its filial churches. Rosalnice as a village (Rosendorf) is first mentioned in written sources dating to 1490, but a church on the site is mentioned in a charter issued by the Patriarch of Aquileia dating to 1228. It is likely the Rosalnice church was the seat of one of the early parishes in White Carniola. Others suggest that the churches were founded in the early 13th century, when the Counts of Višnja Gora or Andechs annexed White Carniola. Another theory is that they were founded before or after the foundation of the Bishopric of Zagreb in 1093, which laid claim to jurisdiction over this territory. In any case only one church is mentioned in early documents. Continuous Ottoman raids
in the 15th century led to the relocation of the parish to the town of Metlika. Rosalnice was then established as a monastic complex. Refugee Franciscan
monk
s from Bosnia fled here in the early 15th century and remained here until their retreat to Novo Mesto
in 1469. After this the complex developed as an important pilgrimage centre and the central church was built. Pilgrimages were at their height in the 18th and 19th centuries.
s, dating to the Second World War, and remnants of the old border line between the Kingdom of Italy
and the Independent State of Croatia
between 1941 and 1943 are preserved in a field east of the village. Yugoslavia
was restored and the border was moved after the war.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
on the left bank of the Kolpa
Kupa (river)
The Kupa or Kolpa river forms a natural border between north-west Croatia and southeast Slovenia.The Kupa originates in Croatia in the mountainous region of Gorski kotar, northeast of Rijeka, in the area of Risnjak National Park...
River, east of the town of Metlika
Metlika
Metlika is a town and municipality in the southeastern Slovenia. It lies on the left bank of the river Kolpa on the border with Croatia. The municipality is at the heart of the area of Bela Krajina, the southeastern part of the traditional region of Lower Carniola. It is now included in the...
in the White Carniola
White Carniola
White Carniola is a traditional region in southeastern Slovenia on the border with Croatia and is the most southern part of the historical and traditional region of Lower Carniola. Its major towns are Metlika, Črnomelj, and Semič, and the principal river is the Kolpa, which also forms part of the...
area of southeastern Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
, right on the border with Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
. The Novo Mesto
Novo Mesto
Novo Mesto is a city and municipality in southeastern Slovenia, close to the border with Croatia. The town is traditionally considered the economic and cultural centre of the historic Lower Carniola region.-Geography:...
to Karlovac
Karlovac
Karlovac is a city and municipality in central Croatia. The city proper has a population of 49,082, while the municipality has a population of 59,395 inhabitants .Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County...
railway line runs through the settlement before it crosses the Kolpa River into Croatia. The entire area is part of the traditional region of Lower Carniola
Lower Carniola
Lower Carniola was a kreis of the historical Habsburg crown land of Carniola from 1849 till 1919 and is nowadays a traditional region of Slovenia. Its center is Novo Mesto, while other urban centers include Kočevje, Grosuplje, Krško, Trebnje, Mirna, Črnomelj, Semič, and Metlika.-See also:* Upper...
and is now included in the Southeast Slovenia statistical region
Jugovzhodna Slovenija statistical region
The Southeast Slovenia statistical region is a statistical region in the south-east of Slovenia. The largest town in the region is Novo Mesto. It is the largest region in Slovenia. It has the highest share of young people with 15.8%...
.
Archaeological finds
Archaeological record
The archaeological record is the body of physical evidence about the past. It is one of the most basic concepts in archaeology, the academic discipline concerned with documenting and interpreting the archaeological record....
show that the area has been settled since Roman times
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
. An ancient burial ground
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
was partly destroyed when local houses were being built, but 20 graves
Grave (burial)
A grave is a location where a dead body is buried. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as graveyards or cemeteries....
were properly excavated.
Pilgrimage churches
The village is best known for its three pilgrimagePilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
churches on the northeastern edge of the settlement. Unusually the three churches are built within a single walled enclosure. The northernmost church is dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows
Our Lady of Sorrows
Our Lady of Sorrows , the Sorrowful Mother or Mother of Sorrows , and Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows or Our Lady of the Seven Dolours are names by which the Blessed Virgin Mary is referred to in relation to sorrows in her life...
. It was built in around 1383 and its nave was vaulted
Vault (architecture)
A Vault is an architectural term for an arched form used to provide a space with a ceiling or roof. The parts of a vault exert lateral thrust that require a counter resistance. When vaults are built underground, the ground gives all the resistance required...
in the late 17th century. The middle church is called Ecce Homo
Ecce Homo
Ecce Homo are the Latin words used by Pontius Pilate in the Vulgate translation of the , when he presents a scourged Jesus Christ, bound and crowned with thorns, to a hostile crowd shortly before his Crucifixion. The original Greek is Ἰδοὺ ὁ ἄνθρωπος . The King James Version translates the phrase...
and was built in the early 16th century. It was restyled in the Baroque
Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
in the 17th and 18th centuries. The third church is dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes
Our Lady of Lourdes
Our Lady of Lourdes is the name used to refer to the Marian apparition said to have appeared before various individuals on separate occasions around Lourdes, France...
and has a Late Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
with a 15th-century Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
sanctuary
Sanctuary
A sanctuary is any place of safety. They may be categorized into human and non-human .- Religious sanctuary :A religious sanctuary can be a sacred place , or a consecrated area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar.- Sanctuary as a sacred place :#Sanctuary as a sacred place:#:In...
, but was extensively rebuilt in the following centuries. On the exterior wall of the sanctuary some wall paintings
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
dating to the 16th century, depicting the crucifixion
Crucifixion
Crucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
and Saint Christopher
Saint Christopher
.Saint Christopher is a saint venerated by Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians, listed as a martyr killed in the reign of the 3rd century Roman Emperor Decius or alternatively under the Roman Emperor Maximinus II Dacian...
, are preserved. The churches are collectively known as the Three Parishes , but are not as such parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
es and belong to the Parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
of Metlika.
The early history of the development of the complex is not well documented in written sources, so numerous theories have arisen as to the origins of the three churches. Based on Valvasor's account as well as other sources, some authors have suggested the site was established by the Knights Templar
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
in the late 12th century when they were granted the parish of Črnomelj
Crnomelj
Črnomelj is a town and municipality in southeastern Slovenia. It lies on the left bank of the Lahinja and Dobličica rivers. The municipality is at the heart of the area of White Carniola, the southeastern part of the traditional region of Lower Carniola...
with all its filial churches. Rosalnice as a village (Rosendorf) is first mentioned in written sources dating to 1490, but a church on the site is mentioned in a charter issued by the Patriarch of Aquileia dating to 1228. It is likely the Rosalnice church was the seat of one of the early parishes in White Carniola. Others suggest that the churches were founded in the early 13th century, when the Counts of Višnja Gora or Andechs annexed White Carniola. Another theory is that they were founded before or after the foundation of the Bishopric of Zagreb in 1093, which laid claim to jurisdiction over this territory. In any case only one church is mentioned in early documents. Continuous Ottoman raids
Ottoman wars in Europe
The wars of the Ottoman Empire in Europe are also sometimes referred to as the Ottoman Wars or as Turkish Wars, particularly in older, European texts.- Rise :...
in the 15th century led to the relocation of the parish to the town of Metlika. Rosalnice was then established as a monastic complex. Refugee Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
s from Bosnia fled here in the early 15th century and remained here until their retreat to Novo Mesto
Novo Mesto
Novo Mesto is a city and municipality in southeastern Slovenia, close to the border with Croatia. The town is traditionally considered the economic and cultural centre of the historic Lower Carniola region.-Geography:...
in 1469. After this the complex developed as an important pilgrimage centre and the central church was built. Pilgrimages were at their height in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Other features
Three concrete bunkerBunker
A military bunker is a hardened shelter, often buried partly or fully underground, designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks...
s, dating to the Second World War, and remnants of the old border line between the Kingdom of Italy
Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)
The Kingdom of Italy was a state forged in 1861 by the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was its legal predecessor state...
and the Independent State of Croatia
Independent State of Croatia
The Independent State of Croatia was a World War II puppet state of Nazi Germany, established on a part of Axis-occupied Yugoslavia. The NDH was founded on 10 April 1941, after the invasion of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers. All of Bosnia and Herzegovina was annexed to NDH, together with some parts...
between 1941 and 1943 are preserved in a field east of the village. Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
was restored and the border was moved after the war.